The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently publish a nationwide timetable for the production, distribution and collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), warning that administrative delays could disenfranchise newly registered voters.
The party made the call in a statement on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, amid concerns over delays in PVC availability, particularly in the Northwest.
The ADC said millions of Nigerians who completed the voter registration exercise deserved certainty about when and where they could collect their cards.
“You cannot register Nigerians to vote and then make them run from office to office searching for the card that enables them to exercise that right. Registration without access to a PVC is disenfranchisement by another route,” the party said.
It urged INEC to publish, on a state-by-state basis, the number of newly registered voters, PVCs produced and distributed, outstanding cards and designated collection centres.
The opposition party also called for intensified public information campaigns and, where practicable, decentralisation of PVC collection to prevent distance, bureaucracy and poor communication from becoming barriers to voting.
“With the general election approaching, Nigerians should not be left wondering whether their cards will arrive in time. This is not a logistical footnote. It goes to the heart of the credibility of the election itself,” the ADC said.
The party said it would mobilise its structures nationwide to monitor PVC distribution and document complaints from registered voters who are unable to obtain their cards.
“We do not want an election-eve scramble, excuses or emergency promises. INEC has the opportunity to resolve this matter now, transparently and comprehensively,” it said.
The ADC added: “Every PVC that remains unnecessarily unavailable represents a citizen whose constitutional voice is at risk of being silenced. That must not be allowed to happen.”
